nuclear fusion
Processes in which two lighter atomic nuclei merge to form a more massive nucleus. For nuclei lighter than those of iron, energy is released in fusion. This is the main source of energy of ordinary stars like our sun. Some more information about nuclear ...
nuclear force
Force that binds protons and neutrons together to form atomic nuclei; a side-effect of the strong interaction. See also strong interaction and weak ...
nuclear fission
Processes in which a heavier atomic nucleus splits up into several lighter nuclei. If the initial nucleus is heavy enough, energy is set free in the split. Nuclear fission reactions are used in nuclear reactors to produce electrical energy, and in nuclear ...
nonlinear
In some physical theories, influences can simply be added up - take the electric force associated with one particular charged body, the electric force associated with a different body, and their sum will be the electric force felt by a test ...
nitrogen
Chemical element whose atoms have seven protons each in their nuclei. In the context of relativity, more concretely: cosmology, nitrogen is interesting as an indicator of chemical evolution: Its nuclei are not produced during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, but ...
Newtonian gravity
In pre-Einstein mechanics, which goes back to the English physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727), gravity is a force with which masses act on each other. As other forces do, they cause bodies to accelerate. In its simplest form, Newton's law ...
